novelraw #246 - Section 246
#246 - Section 246
The stability of these countries now rests entirely on the virtual world of Elysium. With very little cost, they can quell the resentment from citizens overburdened by labor, the loss of loved ones, and other negative events.
Their governance is also based on the obedience and docility brought about by Elysium. There's nothing left to fight for in the real world; instead, rankings and killings in the virtual world are more directly stimulating and are the “careers” they pursue.
But then, with a snap, this virtual world vanishes, and that avenue of enjoyment is gone!
The lower classes of the great powers are instantly enraged, going from docile to rioting without hesitation!
Unprecedented public resentment, which was forcibly diverted by Elysium, now has nowhere to go. As a result, large numbers of players in every country take to the streets in a frenzy.
Escaping from Elysium, the lower classes suddenly see what kind of terrible lives they're living!
The food is tasteless, worse than pig slop. Their living conditions barely keep out the rain, they haven't bought new clothes in ages, and they live in collective dormitories like pigeon coops...
Originally, in Elysium, they had delicacies and countless virtual maids serving their every need. But now they're suddenly back in reality?
Although their lives might only be slightly worse than before, they've grown accustomed to being deceived by false illusions.
It's like a fairy who lives in beauty filters—how can she accept that she's a tank?
No, please put me back in front of the camera and max out the beauty filter!
They are angry, they are lost. The more they were exploited in the past, the more desperate they feel now as they recall their empty lives.
This reality is beyond saving; please let me return to the virtual world!
The great powers desperately explain, “If you want to rebel, aim at the Terra Kingdom! If you want to curse, direct it at Tassica! She's the one who shut down your Elysium!”
“Come on, let's raise an army, and we'll take down the Terra Kingdom together! You can play the game as much as you want, and there are unlimited stones to spend!”
If it were the ignorant masses of the past, the propaganda of the great powers might have actually succeeded.
After all, chauvinism exists in every race; there's no problem with blaming foreign dogs.
But the lower classes now, although their lives are miserable, have had their horizons broadened by Elysium. They have more knowledge than the farmers of the past who faced the soil all day long.
“Sorry, gentlemen, we can't listen to a word you're saying.”
“If you didn't want to fight Tassica, why would the Terra Kingdom cut off our Elysium?”
“Oh, she kidnapped your sons, your wives and daughters, even you yourselves...”
“Hehe, what does that have to do with us commoners?”
“We have no other demands; we just want to play the game today!”
In fact, the great powers are suffering the consequences of their own actions.
There are definitely people who are easily fooled and willing to fight for them, and they account for a considerable proportion.
But these people were already depleted in previous wars, turning into the church's power of faith!
The people who are left are all honest and live earnestly, most enthusiastic about Elysium, and willing to work hard for the sake of playing games.
They have nowhere left to retreat; they are only guarding their last dream, entrusting their lives to the virtual world.
It's completely impossible to fight for the wishes of the monarchs in reality.
So, trying to fool them into fighting is purely a dream.
Because they are completely disappointed in their rulers, and many of the relatives they care about have been tormented into inhuman shapes by this world, there's nothing to protect, and they can live very easily and freely.
Having no desires makes one strong. In the end, the only thing worth risking their lives for is the right to play games...
At this moment, whether they are elves, goblins, dwarves, or undead, they all have one unified name:
Players!
The lower classes in various places, the deeply addicted to Elysium, surround the local government offices, surround the palaces, creating incredibly terrifying waves.
If it were the past, they would of course be greeted by the iron hooves and steel blades of the Knights, but these lambs who now possess another identity as players are fundamentally different from the desperate mobs who were starving to the limit in the past:
They have strong bodies because of fast food, considerable fighting skills because of game training, and some have even mastered rudimentary command skills from playing strategy games...
With simple contact, the vanguards who tried to suppress them with violence discovered that the mobs gathered this time were very tough nuts to crack!
Seeing that the allied forces of the great powers had not been pulled out, but their own homes were about to collapse, and they were preparing to compromise with Tassica.
Roger Charles, Duke of the Green Vine Empire, vaguely the second-in-command of the military and commander of the intelligence department's Night Guard, took the initiative to attend the summit-level meeting of the great powers.
“Duke Roger, what is your wise counsel?” the Elf Queen asked gracefully.
Roger took off his hat and bowed: “Representing the Empire, I offer two technologies: Dauntless Space and Gene-Directed Editing. I wonder if you gentlemen are interested?”
Instantly, countless eyes focused on him, all remembering that Elysium was just a technology that Terra had plagiarized from the Green Vine Empire...
So, they have another choice?
Chapter 222: Duke Roger's Technology, I'm In!
Roger's appearance at the meeting of the great powers was, of course, a pre-arranged scene, a plan the Empire had been preparing for a long time.
While the great powers were drinking the poisoned wine of Elysium, they were waiting for such a package.
Roger created pressure on the great powers, and Tassica established a free port, attracting investment from all over the world.
Tassica turned her back on them, and the great powers felt immense pressure, so Roger should stand up and express the Empire's goodwill.
Adding flowers to the brocade is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow.
If the great powers are not forced to a certain extent, how could they accept options that they would never consider on ordinary days?
The Green Vine Empire, this huge threat, although it was ignored by the great powers in a low-key manner, everyone could still feel the pressure brought by the strategic-level floating fortress when the Eternal Night flew into the sky a few days ago.
Otherwise, why could Roger appear completely at this meeting, and why would the leaders of the great powers be so respectful to him?
The reason is simple: he came aboard the Eternal Night.
The ten-kilometer-long steel creation directly broke through the defense of the Elf Empire's World Tree, pressing down on the heads of the great powers.
The Elf Empire's Royal Guards and the super experts brought by the Kings looked at this behemoth propping up its shield, pressing on top of their heads, even larger than the crown of the World Tree, and had no desire to attack at all.
Was this an attack on Duke Roger's ride, or was it a siege?
Moreover, as everyone knows, the Empire's most famous thing in recent years is magic crystal machinery.
This behemoth doesn't know if it uses more advanced technology, but it's definitely not a pile of legendary mages treading on spaceships inside to drive it.
So, letting us spellcasters expend our magic power to fight against a magic crystal mine, wouldn't that be idiotic?
The Elf Empire's World Tree, in essence, is a world-renowned fortress, successfully resisting countless attacks. It has been managed by the elves for tens of thousands of years and has always been their pride, known as the “Eternal Evergreen Crown.”
But now, the crown was directly broken through by the Green Vine Empire's floating fortress, and counterattacks could not cause any damage at all.
The Evergreen Crown was forcibly turned into a green hat on the Elf Queen's head, with her head pressed down, letting Roger enter the venue.
And Roger didn't waste any words, directly stating his attitude: I'm here to talk business, and the great powers breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he's not here to wipe us all out.
In recent years, the Empire has secretly sold arms to various countries in the world, and the Kings all know more or less.
It's just that this kind of thing is also beneficial to them, so they don't expose it.
But it is still the first time since Empress Eternal Night ascended the throne that the Empire has openly traded with the great powers in the name of the Green Vine Empire.
“Duke Roger, your Dauntless Space, is there still some difference in performance compared to Elysium?” The short goblin's voice was quite loud, quickly advancing to the discussion of technical parameters.
When the Seven Gods were still jointly blockading the Green Vine Empire, the goblins had already secretly resumed trade with the Empire and obtained excess profits. The two sides had a considerable foundation of trust.
They had also talked to Roger about business many times, because they knew that this Grand Duke was an absolute pragmatist, with no special rules. When it comes to business, everyone is a long-lost brother, so they asked without any scruples.
“The functions can be customized. What the Terra Kingdom can do, we can do, and we also have a higher degree of realism, and you don't need to upgrade your new bracelets.”
Roger spoke lightly about the bargaining chips he could give, especially the last one, which could be quite attractive to the great powers present.
Tassica is called the Queen of Capital by them because she has honed her skills in making money to perfection.
Just take the totem bracelet that comes with Elysium. It uses a model where software upgrades force hardware upgrades.
Smooth use in the first year, slight lag in the second year, and extremely poor game experience if you don't upgrade to the latest version in the third year!
In short, Tassica has basically done all the tricks that Earth capitalists have thought of.
Although the great powers don't need to pay for this, everyone is reaping the leeks together.
But the leeks in their own gardens have been harvested by Tassica. The great powers don't say it on the surface, but can they not have some opinions in their hearts?
So now that Tassica stands up, the great powers want to fight a war without hesitation, just to take back the initiative.
As a result, Tassica drew firewood from under the pot, and they couldn't fight, which was quite embarrassing.
When negotiating with Tassica before, everyone said a lot of harsh words.
They are holding a meeting here to discuss and hesitate, not arguing about whether to bow their heads to Tassica.
The allied forces can't be pulled together, so there's no need to fight at all; they can only negotiate with Tassica.
What everyone is arguing about, at first, is who will go to talk to Tassica and bear the embarrassing task of being ridiculed.
Now that Roger represents the Empire and is willing to continue to supply them with Elysium services, it can be regarded as giving the great powers an alternative choice.
Don't say there are discounts for buying; as long as the Empire gives the same price, the great powers are unwilling to condescend and negotiate with Tassica.
Money can be lost, but face is too uncomfortable!
What's more, the conditions given by the Empire are very good.
There is no need to replace the new bracelet, which is equivalent to saving the leeks a lot of money, and then they can receive more taxes.
And they accept customized services like Terra. The Kings of the great powers present seem to see a bright future!
They certainly won't doubt the Empire's level. Many people present are using Dauntless Space.
It is more realistic, and you can learn a lot of things and understand the Empire's latest technology...
Most importantly, everyone knows that Elysium has side effects, and the risk of addiction is extremely high if used for a long time. These nobles don't have much confidence in their willpower.
At the beginning, everyone didn't popularize the Green Vine Empire's technology, wasn't it because they didn't want to buy it?
It's because the Empire didn't sell it!
Under the helpless circumstances, everyone chose Terra's cottage technology and then launched a wave of alliances.
As a result, the Terra Kingdom is an ungrateful wolf, directly eating up the value of the great powers and starting to turn against them?
Hmph, as long as the Empire can pull up the Elysium server, who cares what you, Tassica, think!
Just when the Kings were exchanging glances there, preparing to unify their front and try to lower the price with Roger, Roger spoke again: “If you are afraid of the trouble of promotion, the Empire can help restore services based on the existing Elysium.”
Great Powers: “???”
Damn, what is showing off muscles!
Originally, their last concern was that customizing Dauntless Space would take time.
The players in their own countries who are already on the verge of madness are simply unwilling to wait for this time.
And even if the functions are similar, but the game is reskinned, if someone doesn't recognize it or someone doesn't like it, it will cause new troubles, and they will have to worry about it?
It's like from dota1 to dota2, the same map and the same creators, but because of a certain snow, a completely new style must be replaced.
As a result, many people are unwilling to leave the old game, which leads to player diversion.
Plus, there are other messy reasons such as the operator not being strong and the game update trend, which ultimately led to the decline of this MOBA game's originator into a niche game.
As a result, Roger directly gave a promise: We can save your original game based on the services established by the Terra Kingdom.
This is clearly saying that we have all the technology that the Terra Kingdom has, and we are above them.
In fact, the Empire is just collecting money again and then restoring Terra's original server to them.
But with Roger's promise, the last concerns of the great powers disappeared, and they were willing to talk to Roger about the specific details. The scene was full of joy.
At this time, no one mentioned lowering the price.
Roger's attitude in this negotiation is very clear: an olive branch in one hand and a magic crystal cannon in the other. I hope you guys will take care of it and don't let my olive branch fall to the ground.
Perhaps a Eternal Night cannot directly complete the occupation of the vast territory of the great powers, but it is enough to keep the Kings present.
And how could these rulers, who have long lost the bravery of their ancestors, make operations similar to sacrificing themselves for the country.
Seeing that the various conditions proposed by the Green Vine Empire are quite “friendly,” they are saving them from the edge of national riots, and keeping the happy ending scene from being broken.
As for the real reason for finally accepting the negotiation, you know and I know, the ignorant people don't need to know.
In the end, the great powers took the Terra agreement and completed the signing of the Elysium service with the Empire.